Spring is in the Air
by mcangel1976
Summary: It is spring and Haruhi still doesn't get why girls constantly fawn and throw themselves at the hosts. She has never acted like that and can't bring herself to even contemplate such behavior. Twincest? What's the appeal? Fake promises? Who would believe them? Maybe she's just broken because she just doesn't get it at all. Will her boyfriend be able to help her come to terms?


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or its characters, but I will abuse… I mean use them in my stories to your utter enjoyment. **_

**A/N: This is really late, but this is a birthday story for tmwillson3. I hope you like it!**

Spring. The time when flowers bloom, birds chirp happily, new life enters the world, the Easter Bunny visits, love fills the air, and in a few weeks everyone would move onto their next grade (which meant graduation for the third years). For Haruhi, it was a time when she was forced into smiling big for the customers of the Ouran High School Host Club at the Sakura Festival Tamaki just had to throw for the girls, when the birds tried to steal food scraps for their young babies, and when fake love surrounded her. Girls swooned with whispered promises, ones that would never come true in this lifetime. They squealed when Hunny acted "OH SO CUTE", and they breathed heavily when Hikaru and Kaoru put on their Twincest act.

It was all pretend – ALL FAKE! And the only female host, granted everyone thought she was a boy, couldn't figure out why all the customers fell for it and ate it up like it was their last meal in this lifetime. Although with this crowd, that last meal was probably far into the distant future and would probably be cooked by some five star chef from somewhere else in the world. Bitter? No, she wouldn't call herself bitter, but she just couldn't understand why the girls acted the way they did.

Haruhi Fujioka had never had a boyfriend, had always been more interested in school, and was not a normal girl. This was how most, if not all, of her friends would describe her. And if they believed that, then they would be wrong, and yes, that included Kyoya. Gasp! While in middle school she may not have been aware of Arai's feelings, part of that was because she hadn't been interested in him as more than a friend; however, the other boy in her class, Daisuke, if he would have asked her out, she might have actually said yes… and then he asked out her friend, Suzume. The brunette got over him and moved on, believing she would put off boys until after high school because she just knew Ouran was going to test her like she had never been tested before.

She had been right. On scholarship, she needed to maintain a certain grade point average and if she fell below, she would be put on suspension. If she didn't pull her grades up within a month, she would be out of the school. Rigorous, but this is what she needed if she wanted to insure her future as a lawyer. Ouran was like a golden key to her future. Studying at home was virtually impossible with her father and his lover, so she tried to do most of her homework and studying at school, only to find the rich used their libraries less for education and more for socializing. Too loud and obnoxious, Haruhi tried to find another room to use and remembered hearing something about an abandoned music room. She couldn't remember why so many people talked about it, but even if it was haunted, it had to be better than the ceaseless chatter of the libraries.

After scouring the school, Haruhi finally found the door she was looking for and almost jumped with glee. She didn't though because with her luck, she would have fallen on the floor and broke the glasses she was wearing, which were too big for her face and not exactly the right prescription, but close enough for her to get some benefit out of them. Not only that, but the overly large, bulky sweater, made it slightly difficult for her to do more than trudge from one place to the other… not that she wanted to skip, jump, and glide around like some of the other girls because that wasn't who she was. She was a logical, no nonsense girl, who worked hard in her studies and at home. She didn't have time for anything else, and besides, she wasn't rich and therefore none of the guys at this school would give her a second glance.

Well, it was true until she opened the door of the music room and came face to face with the Host Club. All of them but Kyoya believed she was a boy at first and one by one they realized how wrong they had been. Of course, it took Tamaki the longest because he was kind of an idiot. Ok, so maybe she wasn't as endowed as almost every other girl at Ouran (who's to say they weren't surgically altered), and maybe when she met the hosts she had been wearing the equivalent of boys clothes (in their eyes). Did that mean she had zero in the way of feminine wiles? Not that she was there to meet a boy – she wasn't. She was there to study, get into a good university, and then become a lawyer.

Before they found out that she was a girl, the hosts were borderline rude and liked to tease her, with some exceptions. However, when they found out she was a girl, all of the sudden their attitude changed. They pursued her, wanted to know more about her, and although they teased her, they weren't as mean about it as they once were. Just because she was a girl. Were they that shallow? The only ones that didn't change were Kyoya (he had known from the beginning, probably from hacking into the school system to get all the dirt on the new student), Hunny (he was cute and liked to treat everyone nice – treat others as you want to be treated), and Mori (well, he was a little more open and a lifesaver – no, really).

The more she got to know the hosts, the more Haruhi realized she was developing feelings for one of them. He was handsome and cool, and blatantly rude and obnoxious towards her, but underneath it all she could see that Kyoya really did care about his friends… and she hoped that he cared about her at least a little bit.

"Haruhi, while I understand you do not have guests at the moment, it does not mean you can space out and idle away. Tea needs to be refilled and you need to check to make sure the other guests do not need anything," Kyoya ordered.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Haruhi jumped to do as she was told. The cool host was right, she still had duties to attend and couldn't stand there thinking about how her life had changed since she joined the ranks at Ouran. "Yes, Kyoya-senpai," she quickly moved towards the small cooking area they had set up in the garden and re-filled the pot of hot water that sat upon the tea trolley.

A small smile found its way onto the Shadow King's lips as he watched the natural host working. So many things had changed since she stumbled into the Host Club, and while he might have fought it at first, he long ago stopped trying to battle something he would lose at.

"KYA! Kyoya, are you smiling for us?" A trio of girls asked as they approached their favorite host.

His smile shifting from real to host like, and growing, he nodded, "Of course, why else would I smile. The sakura blossoms are beautiful, but they are no match when compared to your beauty. By the way, we are hosting a summer Bon Festival, would you like to make your reservations now?" As he knew they would, the girls jumped at the chance to be the first on the party list. If they only knew the truth of the matter, then they would probably be shocked into… into… in Kyoya's estimation, they would probably turn into dust must like Tamaki did when he tried to pretend to be Haruhi at the annual physical.

Before Kyoya had realized it had happened, Haruhi had wormed her way into the Shadow King's heart and he had fallen for the clumsy, no sense of self, obstinate, oblivious female, and he knew it was wrong because Tamaki loved her too. While it was also true that he was sure the other hosts had feelings for her, especially Hikaru, Tamaki was the only one that mattered; and over Christmas break, that ceased to be an issue. He could remember that day very well, and while he prided himself on knowing everything, the blond had surprised him and left him completely stupefied.

_**Flashback…**_

_Tamaki was over at the Ootori home, as he was during most of his free time because he rather be there than at home, when he looked up from peeling an orange as he sat at the kotatsu. He studied his friend for a moment and then asked, "Are you ever going to confess to her?"_

"_What do you mean?" Kyoya adjusted his glasses before lifting his teacup up to his lips and taking a drink."_

"_Haruhi."_

_This was not what he was expecting and almost choked on his drink. He had more decorum than this though and after clearing his throat slightly, he inquired, "Whatever do you mean? I believe you are the one that has feelings for her."_

"_I did… I do, but she doesn't want me. I already asked her."_

_Kyoya's head snapped up. He had not been aware of this, "When?"_

_Smiling slightly, Tamaki answered, "After we came back from summer vacation. She turned me down and said she wasn't interested in me like that and that she only liked me as a friend… a very dear friend."_

"_What makes you think I need to confess to her?" The Shadow King hesitantly asked. All this time he believed his mask had been firmly in place and that he had hid his feelings for the brunette. Had something slipped? Then again, this was Tamaki and he noticed things no one else seemed to pick up on… and missed other things that were completely obvious to others. _

"_Oh, Mon Ami. You may be able to hide many things from the world, but I can see where your heart lies. You should confess."_

"_And you?"_

"_I will always be her dear friend and nothing more, but if you and she could be happy, then I will be happy too."_

"_And what makes you think that I will make more progress than you?"_

_Tamaki's smile grew and he leaned forward, whispering almost conspiratorially, "Because I can see where her heart lies as well. Do you want to lose her to another, maybe Hikaru?"_

_**End Flashback…**_

After that conversation, Kyoya knew there was nothing holding him back but himself, and the thought of her with Hikaru made his blood boil. Once they returned to school from their winter break, he asked to speak to her after club time and confessed. She seemed surprised before and wanted to know if he was joking, playing with her emotions. He told her that he was very serious, and much to his surprise, Tamaki had been right… again. Haruhi was now his girlfriend, a secret they still kept from the school since everyone still thought she was a boy, and because it wouldn't do for a host to have a girlfriend.

As the girl of his thoughts brushed passed him after delivering tea to his area, he grabbed her arm and leaned down close so that no one else would be able to hear, "Please wait for me after club hours end today."

Nodding, Haruhi said, "Yes, Kyoya-senpai." The guests may have thought he was divulging some instructions or hidden secret that only hosts were meant to know, but she knew what this was about and she couldn't wait to have some one on one time with her boyfriend.

In front of the girls, the couple still played their parts perfectly, but when they were alone, the masks came off and they could be themselves. She didn't have to play the part of a boy, and he didn't have to play the part of the Shadow King.

Soon two arms wound around her shoulders, and Hikaru asked, "Are you sure? You know you could have me."

"Or me," Kaoru snickered.

"Or both of us!" The twins proclaimed.

"Get your hands off my precious Haruhi you evil devils," Tamaki screamed as he rushed forward and grabbed the brunette.

"We don't think she's yours," the mirror images teased.

Haruhi might have passed out from the arm that was holding her tightly around her neck, but thankfully, Mori was passing by and rescued her and carried her over to Hunny while he also pushed the trolley. "Thanks, Mori-senpai."

Patting his friend's head, Mori smiled, "Ah." Personally, he and Hunny loved the fact that Haruhi had ended up with Kyoya, and while the future was still uncertain when it came to this couple, the wild host hoped they stood the test of time.

"Haruhi will you join us?" One of the girls giggled from a blanket on the ground.

"Sorry girls. I would love to join you, but I have some customers that should be arriving any minute now," she smiled receiving squeals of delight from the customers. Internally, Haruhi sweat dropped not understanding their reaction at all. Maybe she was weird and awkward, but why did girls act like this. She never did. Even in middle school, she never acted like that. Did other girls? She honestly couldn't remember if they did or not. Maybe she was just an oddball or had a defunct girlie mode.

After the festivities, sitting on a couch in music room three, Haruhi could allow herself to ponder all of the things she was thinking about earlier. Was she some sort of anomaly?

"What are you thinking about so intently?" Kyoya called from his table three feet away.

"I just don't get it," she answered honestly.

"What don't you… get?" He asked rolling his eyes at her choice of words.

"Am I different?"

"From whom?"

"Other girls."

"Yes." The answer was quick to be given and without thought, and Kyoya could see this confounded his girlfriend even more. "Would you care to explain to me exactly what's wrong with you and what you are thinking about?"

She sat there for a moment longer before she said, "I'm not overly girly, I don't ogle all of you, and I don't swoon at the empty words that are fed to the girls. I also don't get the appeal of Twincest or why girls turn to mush every time Tamaki opens his mouth. And while I agree Hunny-senpai is cute, I like him better when he acts more his age than his loli character."

"And Mori-senpai?"

"Mori-senpai is fine the way he is, but I'm not interested in him like that. I get that some girls like the strong silent type."

"And?" He prodded.

"Am I broken?"

Unable to cover up the small chuckle that escaped, he closed his laptop and got up to sit next to the girl who so completely captivated him. Wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, he kissed her temple and said, "You are definitely not like any girl I have ever known." Her shoulders slumped and he explained, "Which is a good thing. You have your own mind, are independent, and don't care about the normal trappings of society. I can honestly say that most people who were given your same opportunity would probably try to obtain a rich husband or make as many contacts as he/she can. You didn't do that. You have a dream and you are working hard to achieve it… even as we – and Tamaki in particular – disrupt your time and life. Many girls believe they have to act cutesy or overly girlie in order to attract a boyfriend, but that isn't always true. If you had acted as such, I would have probably ignored you… and you wouldn't have become a host. Thus, I wouldn't have been offered the opportunity to truly get to know you. You, my dear, are a realist and know that the words the hosts spew are empty promises, but for some of the girls here, they are enraptured by the flowery speech and hope there is a small inkling of possibility that they could land a host as a future husband, even knowing the odds are against them. Girls here are groomed for the future and being a socialite wife. You are grooming yourself into being a lawyer, and you have the full support of me, your father, and the others. Honestly if you swoon at every flattery uttered, I would be bored rather quickly since I prefer having serious discussions with you. So to answer your question, no, you are not like other girls and you are not broken. I think you are perfect the way you are. Everyone is different. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and if you were to change to become like one of the other girls at Ouran, you would not be true to yourself. You faced an adversity most people do not know, especially in our circles. Yes, some may have lost a parent early on, but most do not have to take care of the house and a parent at such a young age. We have nannies, cooks, and maids to help make sure the house is taken care of. You had none of that, and it helped to shape you into the person you are today… the person I came to care a great deal for. So while you may not be like other girls, you are a woman and beautiful."

Blushing and with tears stinging her eyes, she asked, "Even if I'm not very romantic?"

"I have no idea what you are referring to. Last weekend, you made us a picnic and we ate it in the park. You bring me coffee and tea when you think I need some, and you care about my welfare, encouraging me to take breaks. Some might think that is not romantic, but I think it shows how much you love me and that is true romance."

"Who said I loved you?" Haruhi snickered and leaned up to give her boyfriend a small kiss. "I only ever said I liked you as well."

He chuckled, "You are correct."

"But I might."

"Might?"

Her beaming smile lit up her face as she told him, "Yah, I guess I love you… or something like that."

"Haruhi?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

It was spring. The birds were chirping, new life was being ushered into the world, the flowers were blooming, and love was in the air.


End file.
